Canada vs United States: Per capita greenhouse gas emissions, excluding land use and forestry
Canada
15.91 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person
in 2024
United States
16.2 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person
in 2024
Canada rank
13th
United States rank
12th
Per capita greenhouse gas emissions, excluding land use and forestry over time
- Canada
- United States
How they compare
United States currently reports 16.2 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person against 15.91 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person in Canada, a difference of 0.29 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person.
The two have swapped places 7 times across 175 shared years of data; in 1850 it was Canada ahead.
Canada ranks 13th and United States ranks 12th of 198 countries.
Across the 18 decades both report, Canada averaged higher in 2 and United States in 16.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Canada | United States | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1850s | 3.22 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 3.6 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 0.3879 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | United States |
| 1860s | 3.25 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 3.9 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 0.6485 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | United States |
| 1870s | 3.39 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 5.02 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 1.63 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | United States |
| 1880s | 4.72 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 6.83 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 2.11 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | United States |
| 1890s | 5.65 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 8.89 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 3.25 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | United States |
| 1900s | 8.25 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 13.54 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 5.28 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | United States |
| 1910s | 11.93 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 17.39 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 5.47 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | United States |
| 1920s | 11.52 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 18.11 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 6.59 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | United States |
| 1930s | 9.9 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 14.33 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 4.43 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | United States |
| 1940s | 13.22 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 18.88 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 5.66 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | United States |
| 1950s | 13.35 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 18.9 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 5.55 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | United States |
| 1960s | 15.11 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 20.78 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 5.67 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | United States |
| 1970s | 20.25 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 24.9 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 4.65 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | United States |
| 1980s | 19.77 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 22.37 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 2.6 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | United States |
| 1990s | 20.14 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 23.13 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 2.99 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | United States |
| 2000s | 20.86 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 22.57 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 1.71 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | United States |
| 2010s | 18.71 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 18.61 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 0.1017 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | Canada |
| 2020s | 16.35 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 16.32 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | 0.0229 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person | Canada |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher per capita greenhouse gas emissions, excluding land use and forestry, Canada or United States?
- United States, at 16.2 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person against 15.91 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person in Canada as of 2024.
- What is the difference in per capita greenhouse gas emissions, excluding land use and forestry between Canada and United States?
- 0.29 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per person, with United States ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Canada and United States?
- 175 years are reported by both, from 1850 to 2024.
- How do Canada and United States rank globally for per capita greenhouse gas emissions, excluding land use and forestry?
- Canada ranks 13th and United States ranks 12th of 198 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- Jones et al. (2025); Population based on various sources (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as Per capita greenhouse gas emissions, excluding land use and forestry. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Greenhouse gas emissions are measured in tonnes per person of carbon dioxide-equivalents over a 100-year timescale.